Machines for stamping pasty materials into cakes, bars or tablets

ABSTRACT

A device for use in a machine for stamping pasty materials into cakes, bars or tablets of the type wherein the soap tablets are formed by pairs of mold halves meeting by passing through the openings of a jerkily rotating box, wherein said box is in the form of a disc provided with through openings, adjacent which projections or lugs are located and adapted to hold both the soap blocks to be moulded and also the excess of soap paste exiting from the periphery of the coupled mold halves, in the disc adjacent said lugs there being prearranged at least two through holes intended to be passed through by a pushing member moving the excess of soap paste from the disc to which it was attached.

United States Patent [72] lnventor Carlo Mazzoni Busto Arsizio (Varese), Viale Trentino, ltaly [21] Appl. No. 700,416 [22] Filed Jan. 25, 1968 [45] Patented Apr. 13, 1971 [32] Priority Jan. 27, 1967 [33] Italy [3 1 1 1970/67 Pat. 827703 [54] MACHINES FOR STAMPING PASTY MATERIALS INTO CAKES, BARS OR TABLETS 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 25/7, 25/9 [51] Int. Cl ..C1ld 13/18 [50] Field of Search 25/7, 8, 9, 10; 18/2 (RP); 100/(Flash Digest) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 407,233 7/1889 Oldham 25/9 Primary Examiner.l. Spencer Overholser Assistant Examiner-Ben D. Tobor Att0rneySemmes and Semmes ABSTRACT: A device for use in a machine for stamping pasty materials into cakes, bars or tablets of the type wherein the soap tablets are formed by pairs of mold halves meeting by passing through the openings of a jerkily rotating box, wherein said box is in the form of a disc provided with through openings, adjacent which projections or lugs are located and adapted to hold both the soap blocks to be moulded and also the excess of soap paste exiting from the periphery of the coupled mold halves, in the disc adjacent said lugs there being prearranged at least two through holes intended to be passed through by a pushing member moving the excess of soap paste from the disc to which it was attached.

OQQQGOOO 0 Q Q Q Patented April 13, 1971 INVENTOR (2:11-10 Mu/mnn i RIIMMIIS 8, S1 )MMIIH ATTORNEY MACHINES FOR STAMPING PASTY MATERIALS INTO CAKES, BARS OR TABLETS Various types of machines are usually used for stamping materials having a pasty consistency, particularly for soap stamping, wherein the stamping or moulding operation occurs by means of two opposite molds operating by a reverse reciprocating motion and connecting with each other by entering a series of cavities or pockets in a jerkily rotating member intended to sequentially carry out the following operation: receiving of the bulk form or block to be stamped, carrying said block to a suitable position for undergoing the mold action; containing of the bulk form or block during stamping operation and assuring the form thereof on the sides being unaffected by the molds and finally carrying the stamped cake, bar or tablet form to a suitable position for unloading on a discharge conveyor or other convenient means for this purpose.

Such machines are adapted to stamp on both faces thereof soaps of a parallelepiped, elliptic, round shape etc., having a peripheral flat band, even though if this band is only a few millimeters thick. I

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved device capable of stamping on both faces soaps of any form (such as elliptic, spheric, lenticular shape, etc.) but substantially having no peripheral contour band, as the edges for the two mold halves and the two block halves therein coincide with the equatorial contacting line of the stamped tablet soap being produced.

It is known that in order to stamp soap material into shapes free from an equatorial flat hand, soap bulk forms or blocks should be prior to stamping of a larger volume than that for stamped finished tablet soaps and therefore the soap paste exceeding the volume enclosed between the molds has to be removed from the molds.

From this necessity arises for allowing the exit of said surplus of soap from molds separating it from stamped soap tablets, and collecting it for recycling it to processing operations.

In the main patent there are disclosed some embodiment examples of jerkily rotating stamping boxed each of which containing a plurality of cavities or pockets, at least one of the latter being adapted to receive the soap to be stamped, carry it to the stamping position, and subsequently carry the stamped soap of the type clear of the cylindrical peripheral band to the unloading position.

This particular soap shape requires the provision of means for allowing the exit of the excessive fed soap relatively to the volume enclosed within said mold halves.

This invention relates to an improvement in the stamping means as disclosed in the main patent and comprises a device formed of a disc which is provided with through openings, means being adjacent thereto for holding the soap block to be formed and also the excessive soap paste exiting from the periphery of the coupled mold halves, adjacent said means there being prearranged in said disc at least two through holes intended to be passed through by a pushing member removing from the disc the excessive soap paste attached thereto.

The accompanying drawing diagrammatically shows by way of example an embodiment of the device according to the invention as adapted to a duplex machine, that is a machine provided with two pairs of mold halves. It is apparent that a similar system can be adapted to machines provided with only one or more pairs of mold halves.

FIG. 1 shows the main portion of the stamping machine as provided with two pairs of mold halves, the novel rotating disc-shaped box and. related molds being applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the novel rotating disc-shaped box;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the disc according to line 3-3 of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the disc according to line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the disc according to line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the disc according to line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a portion of the stamping machine and more particularly the device comprising the disc-shaped stamping box 7, the two pairs of mold halves8-8 and 9-9 carried on plates 10-10 and 11-11, which in turn are fast with two slides 12 and 13, effecting a horizontal reciprocating motion imparted thereto by a well-known linkage system. Disc 7, jerkily rotating about its central axis 18, has openings 14-14, 15-15, 16-16, 17-17 of a shaped contour for efficient cooperation with mold halves 8 and 9 passing through some of them and meeting mold halves 8 and 9' beyond the plane corresponding to the disc face having adjacent said openings a number of projections or lugs 27-28 adapted to retain the excess of soap paste exiting from the mold halves upon coupling thereof.

Ejectors 19-19 and 20-20, operated by compressed air as disclosed in the main patent, are accommodated (FIG. 4) within mold halves 8-8 and 9-9' and attached to plates 10-10 and 11-11.

A horizontally reciprocable slide 21 (FIGS. 1 and 4) carries the introducing pushing members 22-23 located at the feeding conveyor 24 (FIG. 3) terminating with a chute 25 (FIG. 4) so as to feed the soap blocks to be stamped 26-26 on two parallel rows.

The jerkily rotatingmovement for the stamping disc 7, wherein said openings 14-14, 15-15, 16-16, 17-17 are accommodated, is achieved by a Maltese cross or other suitable kinematic device, not shown, operating in timed relationship .with the movement of said pairs of mold halves 8-8 and 9-9. The aforementioned eight openings are of the precise form and identical surface of l-3 millimeters larger than the median section of the soaps following stamping operation.

Adjacent the two ends of each of said eight openings there are attached suitable projections or lugs 27 having the purpose of retaining the soap blocks 26-26 to be stamped adherent to the surface of disc 7 under the thrust of the feeding pushing members 2223.

In the embodiment described, said projections or lugs are formed of pairs of points 27 on which the soap blocks 26-26 to be stamped are stuck under the thrust of said pushing members 22-23.

Thus, the soap blocks to be stamped are attached to disc 7 just in front of openings 17-17 and by a rotation jerk they are then brought to face said pairs of mold halves 8-8 and 9-9.

On reciprocating, said pairs of mold halves would gradually approach the soap blocks to be stamped until joining to provide for the stamping operation, imparting the soap blocks with the internal shape of the pairs of mold halves and peripherally extruding the excess of soap externally of said mold halves.

The outer contour of mold halves 8 and 9 is exactly the same as that of the eight openings in disc 7 (FIG. 4) and precisely enter the same.

Instead, the outer contour of mold halves 8 and 9 is of a conical surface with projections having the function of retaining the soap (ejected in surplus from the mold halves during the gradual mutual approaching), as stuck on said points 27. In order to retain to a larger extent the excess of soap being ejected, further points or pins 28 are attached to disc 7, the last mentioned points or pins operating on the heads of the ejected soap.

At the maximum approach step, corresponding to the maximum pressure stage, the pairs of mold halves 8-8' and 9-9' are spaced apart only through a distance of a few tenths of millimeter, so that around the stamped soap tablet there will remain a film connecting the periphery of the stamped soap tablet with the excess of soap ejected from the molds and which is held adherent to disc 7 by said projections or points 27 and 28.

After the pairs of mold halves 8-8' and 9-9' have moved away from the stamped soap tablets, disc 7 will jerkily angularly rotate so as to carry said stamped soap tablets in front of openings 15-15 (FIG. 5) coinciding with the discharge position. At this position, the stamped soap tablets are detached from the excess of ejected soap paste through the combination of suitable sucker means 29-29 (FIG. 5) (connected with a vacuum system); pushing members 30-30 coacting therewith on theopposite side.

Sucker means 29-29 hold the soap stamped tablets, cut the soap film retaining them adherent to the excess of peripheral soap paste ejected from mold halves 8-8 and 9-9 and lay them out onto the discharge or unloading conveyor 31.

The cutting operation is carried out by causing said stamped soap tablets to pass through openings -15 in disc 7. The

volumes of excess of soap paste ejected from the molds are still adherent to disc 7, as retained by projections or lugs 27 and 28. Such volumes of soap paste, generally in the form of a closed loop, are detached from projections or lugs 27 and 28 (FIG. 6) under the actions of a series of pushing members 32 carried on a common plate or cross member 35, parallel to disc 7 and reciprocally operated so that said pushing members 32, by passing through the corresponding holes 33 in disc 7, will move away therefrom the soap remaining attached to said projections 27 and 28 while the members 34 push the soap stamped tablets from their holes 33.

Thus, the openings 16-16 are completely clear of soap and will appear at the next feeding position as completely free and ready to receive the fresh soap blocks to be stamped to effect a new working cycle. It is apparent that such a stamping system can be used by applying simple devices, such as those shown and described, to machines wherein the pairs of mold halves would effect. a vertical or however inclined reciprocating movement.

1 claim:

1. A device for use in a machine for stamping pasty materials into cakes, bars, or tablets or the type wherein the soap tablets are formed by pairs of coacting mold halves meeting by passing through main openings of a single jerkily rotating box, said box having the form of a disc, projections on said disc adjacent to said openings, said projections being operable to hold both soap blocks to be molded and excess soap paste exiting from the periphery of the coacting mold halves, said disc having, adjacent said projections, at least two through supplementary openings, and a supplemental member extendable through said supplementary openings for ejecting excess of soap paste remaining attached to said disc subsequent to a tablet molding.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the main openings in said disc are equal in size and shape to a stamped soap tablet contour to exert a cutting action for excessive soap ejected fromthe pairs of mold halves subsequent to molding and discharging of a soap tablet.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the supplemental members for ejecting the excessive soap retained by the projections and main pushing members for the stamped soap tablets are mounted on a single common plate parallel to the jerkily rotating disc, and said plate being movable parallel to itself to accomplish its function of clearing soap paste remaining attached to said disc.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein the pairs of molds are driven in a reciprocating movement. 

1. A device for use in a machine for stamping pasty materials into cakes, bars, or tablets or the type wherein the soap tablets are formed by pairs of coacting mold halves meeting by passing through main openings of a single jerkily rotating box, said box having the form of a disc, projections on said disc adjacent to said openings, said projections being operable to hold both soap blocks to be molded and excess soap paste exiting from the periphery of the coacting mold halves, said disc having, adjacent said projections, at least two through supplementary openings, and a supplemental member extendable through said supplementary openings for ejecting excess of soap paste remaining attached to said disc subsequent to a tablet molding.
 2. A device accoRding to claim 1, wherein the main openings in said disc are equal in size and shape to a stamped soap tablet contour to exert a cutting action for excessive soap ejected from the pairs of mold halves subsequent to molding and discharging of a soap tablet.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the supplemental members for ejecting the excessive soap retained by the projections and main pushing members for the stamped soap tablets are mounted on a single common plate parallel to the jerkily rotating disc, and said plate being movable parallel to itself to accomplish its function of clearing soap paste remaining attached to said disc.
 4. A device according to claim 1, wherein the pairs of molds are driven in a reciprocating movement. 